Will meet Taliban leaders in 'not-too-distant future': Trump

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he will meet Taliban leaders in the 'not-too-distant future'.

The announcement comes hours after the US and Taliban signed a pact regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

Trump, during a press briefing, thanked the United Nations and NATO for their help in Afghanistan. He also threatened to go back with a force if "anything happens".

"Everybody's tired of war. Many lives over such a long period of time have been lost. I want to thank our wounded warriors. Despite their wounds, they always said 'I want to go back'," said Trump.

"I'll be meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not-too-distant future. We had tremendous success in Afghanistan in killing terrorists" but now is the time to bring our people back home," he said.

 

"Now it's time for somebody else to do that work and that's the Taliban" and surrounding countries that can help, said the POTUS, adding that the US troops will be reduced to 8,600 for now. "This was a very spirited agreement."

"If bad things happen, we'll go back...with a force that nobody's ever seen," he added.

After 18 months of talks and nearly 20 years of war, the Taliban and the United States have signed a deal aimed at paving the way for peace in Afghanistan and the departure of foreign troops.

As per a joint declaration between Washington and the Afghan government, the US will withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan within 14 months. The plan is "subject to the Taliban's fulfillment of its commitments under the US-Taliban agreement".

"The United States reaffirms its commitments regarding support for the Afghan security forces and other government institutions, including through ongoing efforts to enhance the ability of Afghan security forces to deter and respond to internal and external threats, consistent with its commitments under existing security agreements between the two governments," the joint declaration read, as reported by Tolo News.As per the declaration, the US will reduce the number of its military forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments in the US-Taliban agreement within 135 days of the announcement of this joint declaration and the agreement with Taliban.